outer space

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Space May Be 20% Closer Than We Thought
World's 'Most
Widely Accepted
Boundary' May
Be Wrong
NEW STUDY
Jul 26, 2018 10:00 AM CDT

World's 'Most Widely Accepted Boundary' May Be Wrong

Astrophysicist says Karman Line is 50 miles above Earth, not 62

(Newser) - Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell calls the Karman Line the world's "most widely accepted boundary." It's otherwise known as the point where space meets Earth's atmosphere, and since before the launch of Sputnik, it's thought to have hovered 62 miles above our heads. Until now. In...

Interstellar 'Space Grease' Detected in Vast Quantities

'This space grease is not the kind of thing you’d want to spread on a slice of toast'

(Newser) - President Trump's " Space Force " might need to carry some heavy-duty cleaning products. A team of astronomers has determined that the universe is a much greasier and dirtier place than once thought, with grease-like molecules known as aliphatic carbon thinly spread throughout interstellar space, the Guardian reports. As...

Why NASA Is Closely Watching a Gargantuan Dust Storm

The Opportunity rover is stuck in it on Mars

(Newser) - To call the Martian dust storm gargantuan wouldn't be an overstatement: As of Tuesday, it covered a quarter of the planet, making it the size of North America and Russia combined, per Space.com . And the Opportunity rover is in the middle of it. That's of concern. The...

New Asteroid Flies Backward, Comes From Another Sun

Known as 2015 BZ509, it's only the second of its kind ever found

(Newser) - Just months after the discovery of our first known interstellar visitor , it turns out there's another asteroid from yet another star system residing in our cosmic club in plain view. Per the AP , scientists reported Monday that this interstellar resident is an asteroid sharing Jupiter's orbit but circling...

Trump Claims Credit for 'Space Force' Idea

'What a great idea, maybe we'll have to do that'

(Newser) - SpaceX founder Elon Musk cut through the excitement surrounding future travel to Mars Monday, noting "it's difficult, dangerous," and there's a "good chance you will die." A day later, President Trump appeared more optimistic, claiming Americans will reach Mars "very soon" and touting...

They Had the Same DNA. Then One Spent a Year in Space

A fascinating look at the case of identical twin astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly

(Newser) - NASA is pointing to the "stresses of space travel" as the factor behind a fascinating phenomenon involving the only pair of identical twin astronauts in history. Per Live Science , even though Scott and Mark Kelly once boasted the same DNA makeup, Scott's nearly yearlong trip on the International...

Secret Colony of Penguins Given Away by Own Poop
Scientists Find
Huge, Secret
Colony of Penguins
NEW STUDY
Mar 2, 2018 11:38 AM CST

Scientists Find Huge, Secret Colony of Penguins

'Supercolony' of 1.5M Adélie penguins on Antarctic Peninsula is a major find

(Newser) - More than 1 million penguins who've been hiding in a remote part of Antarctica were recently discovered thanks to images taken from space and ... their own poop. A study in the Scientific Reports journal reveals the Danger Islands find of more than 750,000 pairs of Adélie penguins—...

Now Available: Same Record We Shipped to Extraterrestrials

'Voyager Golden Record' from 1970s is being released to the public

(Newser) - Somewhere out in the great abyss of space, an alien may be jamming to Chuck Berry this very moment. Now, earthlings can buy the very same record. The Washington Post reports that startup Ozma Records is poised to begin shipping copies of the famed Golden Record that NASA sent into...

Meet 'Oumuamua, Our First Guest From Another Solar System

And scientists think there could be thousands more just like it passing through

(Newser) - Houston, we have a visitor—and astronomers think there could be 10,000 more just like it "lurking" in wait, as the Guardian puts it. Meet 1I/2017 U1, or 'Oumuamua (Hawaiian for "messenger" or "scout"), which scientists say is an asteroid from another solar system—...

The October Sky Show You've Been Waiting For Is Here

Orionid meteor shower is Friday, Saturday night, visible from anywhere on Earth (except Antarctica)

(Newser) - USA Today wants you to "count your lucky stars" this weekend—literally. That's because what it's deeming "one of the year's best sky shows" is set to take place: the Orionid meteor shower, scheduled to peak on Friday and Saturday nights, with the best...

&#39;ET&#39; Dust Extracted From White Cliffs of Dover
'ET' Dust Extracted From
White Cliffs of Dover
NEW STUDY
Sep 11, 2017 10:19 AM CDT

'ET' Dust Extracted From White Cliffs of Dover

Cosmic particles could offer clues to past major events like asteroid collisions

(Newser) - The White Cliffs of Dover serve as both a stunning photographic subject and as an iconic British symbol of defense during war. Now they're also a geological museum of sorts: Scientists from Imperial College London have discovered 76 particles of fossilized cosmic dust in the chalky limestone, which could...

Probe Makes 'Earth-Shattering' Find at Jupiter's Poles

Monstrous cyclones are not what scientists expected

(Newser) - Monstrous cyclones are churning over Jupiter's poles, until now a largely unexplored region that is more turbulent than scientists expected. NASA's Juno spacecraft spotted the chaotic weather at the top and bottom of Jupiter once it began skimming the cloud tops last year, surprising researchers who assumed the...

Astronaut's Pics of Belgium Are Beautiful—and Bothersome

Country leaves most of its streetlights on all night long, and it's obvious from space

(Newser) - After Thomas Pesquet gets off work and completes his exercise routine, he often whiles away his evenings with his camera, taking pictures he thinks others will enjoy—and those images recently exposed to the entire world the odd obsession Belgium has with leaving its lights on all night long. Pesquet,...

Inside the Quest to Create the Nation of 'Asgardia'

You can become a citizen of it, but you won't be able to leave Earth

(Newser) - If your chosen candidate doesn't win on Nov. 8, there's perhaps no need to decamp to Canada or Russia : Become a citizen of Asgardia instead. That's the name of the newly proposed "first nation state in space." Named after a world in Norse mythology that'...

Why Sweden Wants to Send a Condom Into Space

Best invention ever?

(Newser) - Sweden wants everyone talking about contraceptives. So in a voice-over video message to NASA, the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (RFSU) points out that the US has a long history of sending objects into outer space, and then proposes that NASA get to work on launching, well, a condom. The...

3-2-1&mdash;Crash! Rosetta Lands on Comet
A Comet Crash
Landing for
the Ages
Sep 30, 2016 6:35 AM CDT

A Comet Crash Landing for the Ages

Space probe Rosetta makes final journey onto comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

(Newser) - It took the Rosetta a decade to catch up with Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, and on Friday, the space probe was sent to crash-land on the comet, ending its 12-year mission and giving European Space Agency scientists "emotional closure," the Guardian reports. "Rosetta has been comparable to the moon...

NASA to Chase Asteroid That Has Slight Chance of Hitting Earth

But even if Bennu does strike in 170 years, it won't be end times

(Newser) - There's an asteroid out there that might slam into Earth in about 170 years, but contrary to some recent scary-sounding headlines, it won't wipe out Earthlings if it does, reports Space.com . "We're not talking about an asteroid that could destroy the Earth," says Dante...

Traveling in Deep Space Is Bad for Your Heart

Apollo astronauts are much more likely to die of cardiovascular disease

(Newser) - Planning a trip to the moon? You might want to think about heart health first. According to a study published in Scientific Reports , travel in deep space dramatically raises the risk of cardiovascular disease. Florida State University researchers looked at America's Apollo astronauts, who are the only people ever...

&#39;Juno, Welcome to Jupiter&#39;
 'Juno, Welcome to Jupiter' 
UPDATED
Jul 5, 2016 6:24 AM CDT

'Juno, Welcome to Jupiter'

Probe slips into orbit after 5-year journey

(Newser) - After spending five years traveling to Jupiter , NASA's Juno probe entered the gas giant's orbit Monday night by executing a make-or-break maneuver that was accurate within a second. Team members at the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory cheered as they received confirmation that the spacecraft...

NASA Just Lit a Big Fire in Space

The biggest one ever intentionally lit, as a matter of fact—all in the name of safety

(Newser) - NASA just started the biggest fire in outer space ever intentionally set—all in the name of safety, Space.com reports. The Spacecraft Fire Experiment , aka Saffire-1, took place Tuesday inside an unmanned Cygnus cargo vessel after it left the International Space Station, with what a press release describes as...

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